In recent years an improved lysis-filtration blood culture process has been developed. A typical process of this kind is described in Zierdt et al., "Development of a Lysis-Filtration Blood Culture Technique", Journal of Clinical Microbiology, January 1977, p. 46-50, which publication is hereby included by reference.
According to the previously employed procedures, the lysis, filtration and culture are performed in separate containers as separate operations. This invites contamination, because of the many operations open to the air, pouring of the mixture from one vessel to another, and transfer of the filter membrane from the filter holder to the final culture bottle. A unitary culture chamber assembly, as described herein, would obviate almost all of this contamination risk.